Book on Jeff 'Candy Slim' Merrritt

[Bill Paxtom]

Don King

Heavyweight Fighters
* Earnie Shavers
* Jeff Merritt

A 'disaster' for Don King, and his Cleveland-based stable.

Earnie Shavers, the 'KO Artist' otherwise known as 'The Dark Destroyer'. Riding high after his June 18, 1973 'Kaboom' {KO 1}
over Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden, is '1-Bout' away from challenging George Foreman.

Earnie gets his jaw 'de-hinged' by Jeff Merritt in the infamous Sunday Afternoon ~ July 15, 1973 sparring session
at Grossinger's Country Club in upstate, New York, putting Earnie out-of-action for the schedule July 25, 1973 bout
with Jerry Quarry at Madison Square Garden.

Earnie comes back 5-Months later, only to get 'blitzed' {KO'd in 1} by Jerry Quarry on December 13, 1973 at Madison Square Garden.

One-month later, Earnie abruptly retires {temporarily} on January 17, 1974.

Jeff Merritt is now the 'new' boy, following an exciting 1973 campaign, which includes 'fracturing'
Earnie Shavers jaw on July 15th.

Then Jeff scores a 'shocking and stunning' {TKO 1} over Ernie Terrell on September 10th at Madison Square Garden.

Then 'wallopis' Ron Stander by a TKO 3 on November 28th in Cleveland, which included flooring
'The Council Bluff's Butcher' {3-times}, something that had never been done before.

Prior to Jeff 'Candy Slim' Merritt fighting Henry Clark on March 4, 1974 and at the Oakland Coliseum Arena,
Don King said that he was going to move his Headquarters to the Bay Area, and put San Francisco and Oakland
on the map as the Heavyweight Capitol of the World.